Disclaimer: I own neither ER nor any of its characters and I'm not trying to make any profit by this story.
Author's note: This story takes place somewhere during the summer between seasons 9 and 10, about a month after the Evil Amputation. It's about Romano and Elizabeth and how they find themselves in each other's company during the time of Romano's medical leave. I've read no spoilers for season 10, so there won't be any of them in this story either. Whatever will be written, will be pure speculation of what might happen.
There's not so much dialogue in the first chapter, so I don't know if it makes it harder to read, but I'm just trying to set things up here and the writing might change in the future chapters to be more dialogue driven.
I'm not American and I don't speak English as my first language, so there might be occasional errors in grammar, general lack of versatility, and a tendency to use British terms rather than American, because I'm European and better accustomed writing and speaking in the British way. But I'll do my best to avoid any mistakes.
Rated PG-13 for now, but the rating may go up in later chapters.
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Chapter 1 ~ How Are You Healing?It was one of those days in the summer when everything seemed to be in a standstill. The sun was shining from a cloudless sky and the heat was almost unbearable. Everyone lucky enough to be out of work had either fled the city for holidays or were locked inside of their air conditioned houses, sipping cold drinks and watching football and whatnot on their satellite TVs. That is, everyone except Robert Romano, who had already spent a month in that fashion and had grown tired of it.
It was now exactly four weeks since he had been admitted home from the hospital where he had had his arm amputated, the same hospital where he had worked for several years as a surgeon. But it was all over now. For an entire month he hadn't set a foot inside of that building, nor had he met any of the people working there. Most of them he didn't even wish to see, and the one he did miss, he was trying to forget.
He had seen her once, two weeks ago, but she had not seen him. She had been walking down the street with that new surgeon, Dorsett, and they had been so absorbed in each other's company that they hadn't even noticed Robert on the other side of the road and Robert certainly hadn't made any attempt to be seen. They had looked ever so much like a couple that he had had no wish to go and break the mood . He would only have ended up insulting the Doorstep if he had gone there, of that he was sure.
In a way he was happy for Elizabeth that she was finally moving on with her life and letting go of the past, but as much as he tried to explain himself how good it was for her, he couldn't help but feel a sting of jealousy every time he thought about her together with that tall and handsome surgeon or imagined her smiling at him and learning to live again in his arms.
Walking slowly down the deserted street, Robert smiled ruefully at this own situation: during the course of one year he had lost his arm, his carefully built career as a surgeon, his much sought after job as the Chief of Staff; basically everything he had ever had, and he here was pining, not for all the things he had lost, but for the one thing he had never had. Life was a bitch, and Robert knew it, so who was he to complain? He had already hit the rock bottom, so now there would only be one way to go, and that was up.
The thought lifted his spirits slightly and he decided to extend his tour of the city to the river, the closest to the County he had been yet after the amputation. An ambulance drove by. It had to be on its way to County. Maybe Elizabeth would be there to meet the patient, whoever the lucky bastard was. Or maybe the poor soul would be treated by Pratt the Brat or Dorsett the Doorstep, maybe even Weaver the Beaver. Robert snorted. At least his life would never be completely useless as long as he could find ways of making fun of certain people.
After a while he arrived to the river bank that was near the bridge. The water looked as filthy as ever, probably even more so than usually, because the flow was almost non-existent. It hadn't been raining in days. Robert soon continued his way towards the bridge. There had to be a bench somewhere where he could sit down for a while before starting the long way back home. He was tired and thirsty. The heat was finally getting the better of him.
Robert sat down on the first bench he could find, drawing a piece of cloth from his pocket to wipe the sweat from his forehead and neck. He was startled to hear a familiar voice from behind his back:
"I didn't realize people still used handkerchiefs."
Robert turned around swiftly, his face lighting up despite his attempts of self control.
"Lizzie!"
He was rewarded with a smile that sent flutters through his entire body. Then he caught himself from staring at her face and looked away.
Elizabeth sat down beside him. She was happy to see Robert. She hadn't even realized how much she had missed him. Surely, she had felt there was something missing from County during the weeks Robert had been gone, but she hadn't quite been able to grasp the feeling before now. She had missed him.
"How are you healing?" she asked when the conversation, or the lack thereof, seemed to be leading them nowhere. "Is it still hurting?"
Robert shook his head. "Nah…I'm okay." But he could see Elizabeth wasn't quite convinced, so he looked up firmly and continued: "Do you think I'd be walking around the city on a day like this if I was in pain?"
Elizabeth's frown cleared and she chuckled lightly:
"Well, knowing you as I do, Robert, I wouldn't be surprised if you were!"
"What? Are you trying to imply you think I am some sort of a masochist? Lizzie, I must say I'm very disappointed."
"I'm not implying anything." Elizabeth replied innocently, the smile never leaving her face. It suddenly occurred to Robert that she seemed happier than he had seen her in a long time. He wondered if he should ask about Dorsett, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to know. Finally he decided to take the longer way around and see where the conversation would take them. If he was lucky he'd be able to gather all the information he wanted by counting the times Dorsett's name would be mentioned. If she'd speak of nothing else, then he could be certain it was serious.
"So," he started, casually, staring at the river as he spoke: "I take it you're coming from work? Or going?"
"Coming. I had an early morning shift." Elizabeth replied brightly. "Actually, it was the last one before my vacation. I'll now be off for two weeks."
"Going somewhere?"
"No. I thought about going to London, but I changed my mind about it, so I'll just stay home and spend time with Ella."
Not one word about Dorsett. Robert was happy, but not quite satisfied yet. Maybe she just wanted to spare his feelings by not mentioning the guy? He decided to try a different approach:
"You know, I actually saw you the other day." He noted matter-of-factly, as if it was something he had just remembered.
"Really?" Elizabeth looked at him in surprise. "Why didn't you come to talk to me?"
"You had some company, so I didn't want to disturb."
"Oh?" Elizabeth raised a quizzical eyebrow.
"You know, that surgeon, whatshisname…Door-something?"
"Dorsett."
"Yeah, the same guy. I – " Robert hesitated a bit. "I thought you might be on a date or something."
Elizabeth frowned.
"When was this?"
"About two weeks ago."
"Well…yeah." Elizabeth was stretching her words. She wasn't sure of how much she should confess, but finally she decided to tell it all as it was. After all, one of the best qualities in the long and tumultuous relationship between her and Robert was the fact that they so often were honest for each other.
"I guess we kind of did have something going on at the time…" Elizabeth began. "Nothing serious, really." She hastened to add as she saw Robert's eyes darken. "We had a bit of fun together, for a time, and that was it. We both acknowledged from the beginning that it wouldn't last."
Robert nodded. That was all he needed to know for now.
"What about you?" Elizabeth's next, slightly hesitant question took Robert by surprise. When had she ever asked or been in any way interested about his personal life?
"Uh…Well, nothing worth reporting really. You already met the lady I've been sharing my bed with for the last few years."
Elizabeth looked perplexed. Robert grinned at the expression on her face as he added: "Really Lizzie, I would have thought you'd remember your patients better, especially the rare cases, like the ones walking on four feet."
The look of disbelief on Elizabeth's face turned into an amused smile as the realization hit her.
"Oh, you mean that big hairy thing you once brought to the OR", she smirked. "I take it she came out all right of the operation?"
"Yeah, she's doing great."
"I'm glad to hear it." Elizabeth replied, turning to look at her watch and then back to Robert, regret in her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I have to go now. I promised Chris to come and release her as soon as I'd get out of work. She has some important meeting…"
Robert immediately stood up.
"I won't keep you then. I was actually on my way back home anyway."
Elizabeth also got up, stretching her clothes. Robert hadn't even realized how lovely she looked before now that he was properly looking at her. She was wearing a skirt that was up to her knees and a top which gave away her fine figure, any extra clothing would have been too much on a day like that and for once Robert fully appreciated the heat that had invaded Chicago that week. The hair, full of curls as ever, looked lighter and it was shining in the bright sunlight, as were her eyes, staring at the flowing river and reflecting the water.
He quickly averted his eyes when Elizabeth turned to face him again. She was smiling:
"It was nice to bump into you, to catch up with everything."
"Yeah…" Robert replied. He looked at Elizabeth and decided he'd have to give it a go, just one last time, or he'd regret forever: "So, would you mind…eh… bumping into me some other time, maybe later this week?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"I mean, would you mind meeting me again?" Robert clarified and, seeing Elizabeth's hesitation, added: "You know, it wouldn't have to be a…date."
Elizabeth looked at him, first uncertain, then a little smile finally taking over.
"I'd like that." She replied simply.
Robert could scarcely believe his ears. Maybe the sun was affecting his brain? Or hers? Elizabeth chuckled as she noticed Robert's disbelief.
"I mean it", she assured him. "Call me tonight and we can talk more about it. I really need to go now."
With that she left, leaving Robert in a mixture of feelings that were disbelief, happiness, doubt and joy, all mangling his brain with different effects. He'd really have to get inside and cool off before permanent damage was done.
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So, should I continue? Any feedback, good and bad, would be welcome.